Chapter 5

Raziela

The smell of mildew, urine, and blood wafted around me and more tears poured down my face.

Darkness enveloped me, broken only by a sliver of grey light filtering through a tiny, barred slit high in the wall, too high to offer any view but a patch of indifferent sky. The roar of the crowd outside began to fade, replaced by the pounding of my own heart and the ragged rasp of my breathing.

I laid there for a long moment, the cold of the stone seeping into my bruised and broken body.

Alone. Accused. Beaten. Condemned.

I curled in on myself, the rough stone scraping against my cheek.

The trial tomorrow would be a sham. Grom’s words confirmed it. They didn’t want justice; they wanted a sacrifice. They wanted my head.

A single tear escaped and traced a path through the grime on my face. Then another. Not tears of defeat, but of a profound, soul-shattering injustice. How had my life unravelled so completely, so horrifyingly, in a single day?

Just when I thought I would finally be free. Free from the horrors of this evil pack. I had let myself dream of a different life. Where my child and I would at least be safe. How stupid was I?

I couldn’t tell how long I remained curled up in that position on the floor, but it must have been a while because the cold stone of the cell floor had leached all the warmth from my aching body. Each breath was a reminder of the beating, and I could feel a sharp stab in my ribs.

I heard the heavy metal of the door pull open and my head that had been resting on my drawn-up knees snapped up. My heart hammered against my bruised ribs as I waited to see who it was.

More torment?

The familiar scent of pine needles and earth reached me moments before Zane’s face appeared in the dim light filtering through the bars.

“Raziela,” he breathed, his voice low and urgent. He glanced down the dark corridor before pressing closer to the bars.

A wave of relief, so potent it almost buckled me, washed through my frame.

Zane.

He was here.

He didn’t abandoned me.

But the relief was quickly chased by a cold dread as I saw the hopelessness in his eyes.

“Zane,” I whispered, my voice raspy. I tried to push myself up, but a wince escaped my lips as my muscles protested.

“Don’t move too much,” he said, his gaze flickering over my visible bruises, the dried blood on my torn dress. A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Thomas is the head guard by the entrance, he’s a close buddy of mine and he’s only given me five minutes. I need to be quick.” He rushed out, shuffling from foot to foot as he spoke.

“W-where’s Enid? Do you know where s-she is?” My throat burned as I spoke.

“She’s in an old storage shed near the outer edge of the pack grounds. No one goes there. She’s scared, but okay.” Tears spilled silently down my cheeks.

“Thank you.” I let out a breath of relief, leaning against the bar of the cell.

“Raz, I… I spoke to Elder Rowan. To Madame Helen. They say the evidence is overwhelming.”

My stomach tightened. “Evidence? Zane, I only went in to drop the fucking sheets. That’s all! I didn’t touch him, or even look at him for more than two…”

“They found your scent, Raz. Only yours. It has been confirmed that you were the last person in that room, plus your bracelet… it’s all too much”

“It’s not what it looked like!” I insisted, my cracked voice rising despite my efforts to keep it low. “I didn’t kill him! I didn’t kill Alpha Marcus.”

I could hear the desperation in my voice, but I didn’t care. I needed him to believe me, I didn’t want Zane to see me as a monster too.

“I know you, Raz. You still call me to kill the roaches on your wall” Zane said, his voice earnest, pleading. “I know you didn’t kill Marcus, I believe you. But they don’t. The pack is baying for blood. They’re terrified. An Alpha killed just like that… It's unheard of. They need someone to blame, and…” He gestured helplessly. “It all points to you.”

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a hush. “Raziela, listen to me. There might be a way. If you confess… if you show remorse, plead that it was a moment of madness… maybe they’ll show mercy. Exile, perhaps, instead of… instead of the alternative.”

I stared at him, my chest burning as his words settled within me. “Confess?” I hissed, the word tasting like ash in my mouth. “You want me to confess to a crime I didn’t commit?“

“It’s not about your innocence right now Raz, it’s about survival!” Zane’s voice was laced with desperation. “What good is your innocence if you’re dead? They’ll kill you. What about Enid? You really want her to lose her mother at three? If you’re still alive, I can help you Raz. Even if you’re exiled, I’ll make sure you’re fine.”

My heart clenched. “I am innocent, Zane. I will not trade my life for a lie. Because they’ll kill me regardless of my confession. I will not die a confessed murderer in their eyes. If I die, I die as I am – falsely accused.”

Zane’s shoulders slumped. “Raz…”

“No!” I met his gaze, “But if they mean to kill me, then I won’t wait for it like a lamb for slaughter.”

A new, desperate idea sparked in my mind. “Zane, you have to help me. Help me get out of here.”

He recoiled as if I had hit him. “Raziela, that’s… that’s insane! If they catch you…”

“They’ll kill me,” I finished for him. “They plan to do that anyway. At least this way, I have a chance. A chance to live for my child.” I gripped the bars, my knuckles white. “Please, Zane. You know I didn’t kill Marcus. You know me. Don’t let them waste my life, please.”

His eyes searched mine, and I saw the conflict that flashed through those amber orbs.

Finally, he let out a ragged breath. “The old smuggler’s tunnel,” he said, so quietly I almost didn’t hear him. “It’s underneath the old oak, do you know it?”

“Yes! Is it still clear?”

“As far as I know. No one’s used it in a long time.” He glanced around again, then focused back on me. “It’s a slim chance, Raz. The prison is heavily guarded, it’ll be worse tonight, especially with what has just happened.”

“There has to be a way,” she urged.

Zane nodded slowly, and I could see his mind working. “A distraction. A big one. Something to draw the guards away from the cells…”

“Tonight. During the darkest hour. It’s the quietest time. The guards are usually at their laziest then.” He reached into his hair, pulling out the pin that held his long hair in place. He pressed it into my hands. “The lock on this cell… it’s ancient. That hinge pin is loose. If you can work this pin into the seam…” Sighing heavily, as he rubbed his neck once more. “It won’t be easy and it’ll make noise.”

“I’ll manage,” I said, my fingers closing around the pin.

“Try and get some sleep for now, you’ll need your strength if you intend to go far. Wait for my signal, then you pick the lock in your hands and the door.” He said, already moving towards the door.

“Your signal?”

“When you see it, you’ll know. You’ll have minutes, at most. Get to the Old oak. I’ll be waiting there with Enid. I’ll try to cover your tracks as best I can afterwards, but… if you make it, don’t look back. Just run.“ he said hurriedly, before rushing out of the cell, as Thomas shouted that his time was up.

“Be careful, Zane.” I whispered, as the heavy door was shut behind him.

Alone again, I clutched the small pin. Backing into the corner, as I slid to the floor once more.

Tonight would decide my fate. If I got to see my child again, or if this cold dark cell would be the last thing I would see.

***

A distant shout jolted me awake and I flipped open my eyes to find that my cell room now had a faint orange glow coming from the high window slit. More shouts followed, closer this time, laced with panic. The smell of smoke snaked its way into my cell, forcing me to scramble to my feet.

Zane.

My heart leaped. Adrenaline surged through me. With trembling fingers, I fumbled for the pin that I had held close since Zane had pressed it into my hands. I quickly worked on the locks of the cuffs that held my hands, before pressing my ear to the cold bar. Footsteps pounded in the corridor outside, voices yelling about a fire, and soon it quieted.

Now!

It was easy to pick the lock to the bar of the cell. But as I inserted the tip of the pin into the seam of the old lock mechanism of the main door. The sound of metal on metal seemed deafening in the sudden quiet of my cell. A sharp crack echoed as a piece of rusted metal gave way. I froze, listening. More shouts came from outside, but they were further away now.

I pushed at the door. It groaned, then gave way a few inches, scraping loudly against the stone floor. My breath hitched as I pushed out of door. I squeezed through the narrow opening, my bruised body protesting.

There was no one around as the glowing ambers of the fire scattered around the cell.

Sticking to the deepest shadows, I moved out into the small prison yard. The air was thick with the smell of burning wood.

I remained low, my senses hyper-alert, as I ran along the woods. I saw a trio of warriors approaching my direction and I pressed myself against the bushes, holding my breath as I watched them run towards the fire. Once they were gone, I broke into a sprint.

My lungs burned and my body screamed from the pain, but I didn’t stop until I reached the Old Oak. The entrance to the tunnel was exactly where I remembered it, concealed behind a curtain of thick ivy and a loose pile of stones at the tree's massive base.

Relief, so potent it made my knees weak, flooded through me.

I made it.

Where was Zane and Enid?

I looked around frantically, my heart thundering as I thought of all the things that could have gone wrong. Had they been caught?

A twig snapped behind me.

I turned around so rapidly that I almost lost my footing.

But it wasn’t Zane and Enid that were standing in front of me.

Grom stood not ten feet away, the light from the moon cast dancing, demonic shadows across his scarred face, emphasizing the cruel twist of his lips as a menacing, knowing smile spread.

“Well, well,” Grom rasped, his voice a low growl that sent shivers down my spine. “Going somewhere, little monster?”